{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Phase Gear's Pete Utschig on FDNY, Surf Casting, and Outsider Thinking in Fishing Apparel","description":"Pete Utschig spent 22 years with the New York City Fire Department before retiring to chase fish full-time. Today he's the founder of Phase Gear \u2014 a technical apparel company built specifically for surf casters, by a surf caster. In this conversation, Peter from The Saltwater Edge talks with Pete about: - Why his snowboarding business partner kept asking "why is all your fishing gear so heavy?" \u2014 and what they did about it - The list of grievances every surf caster will recognize (hoods that blow off, soaked cuffs, gasketed necks, pockets that fill with water) and how Phase Gear engineered them out - What it's like to fund a company out of your pension and keep inventory on the shelf one retirement check at a time - Why Pete has turned down investor offers - The single hardest skill to learn \u2014 in fishing and in business \u2014 and how it's the same answer twice - What's next for Phase Gear as it expands beyond the surf Show notes and the full conversation at saltwateredge.com\/blogs\/saltwater-edge Shop Phase Gear: https:\/\/www.saltwateredge.com\/search?q=phase+gear Learn more about the brand: https:\/\/phase-gear.com ","author_name":"Saltwater Edge Podcast - Sharing Our Passion For Saltwater Fishing","author_url":"http:\/\/www.saltwateredge.com","html":"